HERE ARE SOME OF THE BEST -TASTING VEGETABLEVARIETIES& OLD AND NEW&; THAT I KNOW

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

HOW TO GROW DOWNRIGHT DELICIOUS MELONS

Fertile soil and warm, sunny weather at the time of ripening are critical to the development of superb flavor in melons. For this reason, I always [1] grow my cantaloupes and watermelons in a special bed loaded with well-decomposed horse manure (and supplemented with a general-purpose fertilizer), and [2] make at least two plantings—spaced a couple of weeks apart-so that even if one crop becomes waterlogged as a result of a rainy spell during the last crucial days of ripening, the other probably will still be OK.

Also, a black plastic "mulch" is definitely beneficial to melon crops, since it serves to advance ripening, conserve moisture, and maintain an even soil temperature (which—in turn—keeps those fruits growing happily even on chilly nights).

WATERMELON HINTS

If you're growing watermelons for the first time, I'd recommend you start out with a new ice box variety called Yellow Baby. This fruit's unusual, pineappleyellow flesh is absolutely delectable (right down to the outermost millimeter or two of skin), and averages 50% fewer seeds than other ice box varieties. (Moreover, I'm told by the plant's Chinese breeder that Yellow Baby is one of the most cold-tolerant of all watermelons.) I've grown this novel fruit for three years now, and haven't had a bad one yet.

Seedless watermelons aren't particularly easy to grow—they require higher temperatures to ripen and must have another hybrid nearby to act as a pollinator—but if you feel up to the task, I can't think of a more splendid variety to try than Burpee's Triple Sweet Seedless Hybrid. Triple Sweet's succulent, sugarsweet fruit makes all other watermelons seem insipid by comparison.

CANTALOUPES

The selection of cantaloupe varieties is a very personal matter. Some folks like the highly productive and large-fruited Burpee Hybrid ... others are loyal to such varieties as Pride of Wisconsin or Honey Rock. For sheer mouthwatering flavor, however, I'll take an Israeli cantaloupe called Haogen any day. The outer flesh of this small (5" to 6" across), smooth-skinned melon is greenish in color, with a salmon-tinted seed cavity ... and the taste is—just as the Burpee catalog says— indescribably delicious.

Give Heogen a try. I think you'll find—as I have-that It's the best—tasting cantaloupe of all.— DF .

WHERE TO OBTAIN THE VEGETABLE VARIETIES MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print